Torrey Smith and friends have put in a lot of effort for their preparations towards Burning Man 2013. The goal was to make a geodesic dome for the Sextant Camp at Burning Man 2013 using Domerama’s 3V 5/9 Kruschke calculator (resulting in a 3V flat at the base) with the following input:
D Strut: 5.859′ (That corresponds to a total strut length of exactly 6′, which is easy to transport and withstood Torrey’s bending test for “climb-ability”). That results in a diameter of 26.6′, a height of 15.8′, and a floor area of 519 square feet.
And the real surprise is how the geodesic dome struts themselves were made: with waterjet cutting gear which consists in using a mixture under high pressure containing water and abrasives pushed through a tiny nozzle, creating a jet spray able to cut through metal. See the images below and the many videos describing the process.
- Torrey Smith He has no idea what he is in for
Nighttime strut annealing:
Daytime strut annealing:
Flattening the strut ends on the Press Brake at TechShop:
Waterjet cutting the fixture at TechShop:
Waterjet cutting the holes and full-rounds at TechShop:
Countersinking the holes:
